Burst school pipes sends some Orange students to Yale for classes

ORANGE >> “Congratulations! Your children have all been accepted to Yale!”

After a long week of disaster and emergency meetings, beginning when burst pipes sent 50,000 gallons of waterinto classrooms early Sunday, schools Superintendent Lynn K. McMullin mustered a little levity in an online message to Peck Place School parents Friday.

About 370 pupils have been displaced since Tuesday, first by the flood, then by the discovery of asbestos.

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Through it all, “the children have not missed a day,” McMullin said Friday.

Meanwhile, parent Patty Thorndike said the emergency is a wake-up call on school repairs.

“It is nice to joke that my child’s going at Yale at 9, but it really is no joking matter,” she said.

In response, McMullin said the town recently bonded for more than $7 million in repairs, and one contract has been awarded.

McMullin said while Peck Place School is being worked on, the students will move into Yale West Campus off Marsh Hill Road “as soon as possible,” McMullin said.

McMullin could not give a timetable on asbestos removal, installation of a new floor and returning the children to their school. Abatement work starts Monday.

“It’s going to take us awhile,” she said. “It’s an old building.”

The school was built in 1969. In August 2013, it had to be scrubbed after mold was found.

Since Tuesday, children in grades 1-6 have been bused to Turkey Hill and Race Brook schools. Depending on the class, there can be up to 28 to 30 students per classroom, with at least two adults including aides and paraprofessionals, she said.

“It’s not ideal,” McMullin said. “Not every child is with his or her teacher, but the teachers are working collaboratively to make this happen.”

Friday, for example, Race Brook children as usual wore school colors.

But they decided to make it Peck Place day, so instead of their own red and black, the pupils wore blue for Peck Place, she said.

Compensation has not been resolved with the school insurer, she said.

Up to four Peck Place rooms are drenched and two are a total loss, she said. Computers and books were ruined. The school still can use computers that had been on carts in other rooms.

The children arrived for classes Monday, were collected in the cafeteria, which has a raised floor, then bused to Tracy, which has a gym with a capacity of more than 600.

They stayed until 10:30 a.m., when they were bused home.

Tuesday, they were divided by bus routes to the two schools.

Some interior pipes in the front of the school had frozen, then burst Sunday night into Monday morning. About 2 inches of water was found by the school custodian at 7 a.m. Monday, McMullin said.

“We came in Monday and immediately started drying everything out,” McMullin said.

The idea was to get the water out of the floors and cover them with carpet, which would “hold everything in place.”

By Wednesday, “the whole thing changes.” Floor tiles were lifting and asbestos was found in the glue holding them down. The building now has to be sealed so the asbestos can be removed, she said.

Before the children can move to the Yale campus, the space has to be modified. McMullin said people are asking how they can help. She said she might be asking for help to set up classrooms “so when kids come in it will be meticulous.”

Thorndike on Friday said Peck Place School is not properly maintained.

“To have a mold problem and an asbestos problem? What are we waiting for?”

Thorndike said everything in her daughter’s third-grade room was thrown out: workbooks, Smart Board, computers, all her artwork.

She cited the mold issue of last July and said an air conditioner has not been installed in the school.

“They just used fans last year to control the moisture because the mold problem was so bad; by July it was full-blown,” Thorndike said.

She called for major upgrades on all three elementary schools.

“I know that the full-day kindergarten is a hot topic, but maybe our efforts should be put into a school where the children will be housed for six years, not one,” Thorndike said.

McMullin acknowledged the buildings are old and need attention and said the school board was addressing the structural issues of roofs, windows and doors with $7.41 million bonds.

“The purpose is to take care of the outer shell on all three buildings.

Turkey Hill was built in 1964 and Race Brook was in 1959 and the roofs are past their life expectancy, McMullin said.

The contract has been awarded for the boilers, she said.

Call Phyllis Swebilius at 203-789-5681. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.